Underneath The Sakura Trees
by Vkgirl116
Summary: Rima Touya has just transferred to Cross Academy and what better way to bond with your class mates then on a residential to the Hot springs. She bumps into famous model Senri Shiki, becomes enemies with the wrong person and stupidly falls in love. But this will all disappear once she returns to school... right? ShikaXRima
1. Chapter 1

**Underneath The Sakura Trees**

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**A/N: Hey guys, long time no see~ ;D As you can see, I've decided to rerelease the entire UTST series because I thought it wasn't up to scratch. I hope you enjoy!  
Note: None of these characters (except Hatsumi) belong to me. They're all Vampire Knight characters who belong to the author Matsuri Hino.**

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**Chapter 1**

**Rima POV**

I stared out of the window whilst listening to one of my favourite songs, Perfect day by Supercell on my iPod. The sun shone brightly in the vast sky, showering everything in its path with its light and warmth. It had been little over an hour since the coach had set off from Cross Academy we were finally out of the large and densely populated forest which shrouded our school from the outside world. It was surprising how quickly the scenery could change in a short period of time. One second we were surrounded by dark green conifers and the next moment we were out here in in glorious sunshine.

We, as in the whole of the nightclass, were on our way to a famous Onsen for a lavish four days three nights residential organised by the chairman and Head Boy. Apparently it was an annual event for the nightclass to go on a residential at Cross Academy. They did it to help new and existing students - such as me - bond together.

Miles of luscious green rice fields paved the sides of the rural road that we were on. In the water logged fields, I could just make out the figures of farmers hunched over in the fields. Many of them were wearing the wide straw hats that shaded their faces as they picked the rice and deposited it in the baskets strapped to their bags.

I was fascinated by all the new sights before my eyes. It was my first time being in rural Japan, as I was raised in the city all my life. So it was quite a shock to the system when I transferred to Cross Academy a few weeks ago. I no longer woke up in the morning to the sound of morning traffic and the smell of pollution. Instead I was greeted by the musical sounds of bird calls, and refreshing smell of dewy grass. It was a relaxing place and life seemed to move a slower pace around there.

Despite the lovely tranquil location, I wasn't entirely happy there. It hadn't been my decision to enrol in Cross Academy, but my mother's and grandfather's. Our family were Level B Vampires, in other words, we were Nobles. So to keep up with the image they wanted to me to socialise with vampires my age and what better way to do that then send to me to a boarding school which had classes for the current generation of vampires. For them it was a great idea, but I on the other hand wasn't that sure. I had experienced boarding school life before let's just say it hadn't exactly left the best of memories and as a result I had been home schooled for the past couple of years. I was really hoping that it would be different this time round.

The sun light flickered as we passed by a tree and I caught the reflection of my face in the glass. My large cerulean eyes stared back at me. The evidence of my many sleepless nights was already showing on my face. I tried to smooth out the dark bags underneath my eyes. It was due to a mixture of homesickness and worry that I wouldn't be able to fit in.

My fingers straightened out the ginger bangs in front of my eyes and tightened the black ribbons in my hair. I felt a light tap on the top of my head and I looked up to see the emerald green eyes of Takuma's. His blond hair lay in messy locks around his face as he smiled happily and gestured for me to take one of my ear phones out.

"Are you enjoying the scenery Rima?" he asked. Takuma was one of the few friends that I had made so far. He was the one that gave me a tour around the academy and introduced me to the rest of the nightclass.

"Yes, it's really beautiful and actually my first time seeing rural Japan." I admitted.

"Well, wait till we arrive at the Onsen. You'll be blown away when you see it."

"Have you been here before?"

"Yeah, the whole nightclass came here 2 years ago for an Onsen trip. So unfortunately, I won't be able to admire its beauty for the first time." His lips instantly drooped into a pout and I couldn't help but laugh at his expression.

After what seemed like forever the coach slowed to a stop. I peered excitedly out the window to get a glimpse of my first ever Onsen. The entire building was made out of wood and looked very traditional. Even though it must have been quite old, the curved tiles of the roof were kept in pristine shape. From my height on the coach, I was directly eyelevel with the wooden sign above the entrance. Engraved into the plank of wood were the words _Sakura Ryokan_.

As soon as the coach had come to a halt, the teacher stood up immediately and began to rattle of a long set of instructions which included: our schedule for today, the Ryokan rules, the curfew and most importantly - well at least in her eyes seeing as she repeated this at least 5 times – that there must be no boy-girl contact after curfew and that included going into the opposite gender's rooms. After that, everybody rushed off the coach to grab their luggage and begin their own personal activities.

I followed Takuma and we waited as the coach driver started to unload the luggage. I caught sight of my black suitcase with the matching black lacy ribbon attached to the handle. The ribbon was worn out from the many times I had used it and I guess it was time that I got a new one. Once we got our luggage, we followed the other students into the Ryokan.

As we slowly made our way into the building, a pair of arms hugged me from behind. I turned around quickly to see that it was Ruka and Yuuki standing there - this made up the rest of my friends

"Haha, did we scare you there Rima?" laughed the brunette.

"You should have seen the look on her face when she turned around Yuuki. It was so funny, it looked like she had just been molested." Cried Ruka, doubling over.

"Hey Ruka and Yuuki." I said, smiling weakly.

"Don't be like that Rima. We love you really." And to prove her point, Ruka swept me into a hug. My arms just hung limply at the side, unsure about how to respond. I had always only had a few friends and those I had were never as affectionate as these two.

"So what are you guys going to do first?" Asked Yuuki excitedly

"Most people are going for a soak in the Onsens so think I'll join them." Ruka replied, who had a hand around one shoulder and the other on her hip.

"What about you Rima?" Yuuki asked me.

"Travelling really makes me tired so I think I'm going to rest a bit."

"I think I'm going to go explore the outdoor hot springs with Ruka then. Are you sure you don't wanna come join us?" They both looked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I reassured them. "I'll see you guys in a bit." I waved and then headed off to the notice board to see which rooms we had been assigned. To my disappointment, all three of us weren't in a room together. I was with Yuuki and a girl named Hatsumi, and Ruka was sharing a room with three other girls.

I pushed the door open and stared inside. Clothes strewn everywhere and the top of the dresser were covered in containers of makeup, cream and lotions. The rooms looked as if a mini tornado had appeared in the room and ripped up a suitcase, sending the clothes to fly all over the place.

A blond head appeared from behind one of the sides. It was Hatsumi. She appeared to be rummaging through a suitcase. I stood there awkwardly, slowly plucking up the courage to take another step into the room.

She glared at me before asking angrily "Have you seen my pink towel?!" More pieces of clothing were thrown behind her as she disappeared behind the bed again.

"Err...Have you tried checking the bathroom?" I said nervously, taking a step back.

Her blond head popped back up as she got up and rushed into the bathroom. After a few seconds she came out holding an extremely frilly pink towel. Without a word of thanks, she barged past me and exited the room leaving me standing there in the midst of her clothes.

I looked around for a large enough area of floor in which I cloud place my luggage down. There were three beds in the room and guessing by the state of the one nearest to the door, it was probably Hatsumi's. The bed near the end it is. I wanted to stay well away from her and it was a good thing she didn't choose the middle one.

Her voice had sounded familiar though….. An incessant, high pitched whining sound….. Now I remembered, all I could hear was her loud voice in the seat in front of me. Well that was before I drowned it out with my music. Her stupid voice kept going on about some guy called Shiki Senri. Whoever he was, the girl worshipped him like a God. Shiki this…blah, blah, blah…Shiki that…blah, blah.

I walked over to place my suitcase next to my bed. There was a window next to my bed and it had a lovely view overlooking the Sakura tree. The wind seemed to run its finger's through the branches of the trees, taking handfuls of pink petals with it. It was like a pink snow, slowly drifting to the ground.

And hidden beyond the trees was a massive blue lake. Light from the sun bounced off the choppy surface of the lake, making it glitter.

It was an amazing sight.

I opened my suitcase and looked for my water colours and sketchpad. It was a sketchpad that I had owned for many years, and I liked to sketch the places I visited into the pad. It acted as a littler souvenir of the place.

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**Shiki POV**

I lay on the grass staring up at the branches of the Sakura trees. The pink petals rained down, with some landing on the face. They felt soft and cool against my warm forehead. I closed my eyes to listen to the soft tinkling of a wind chime that was strapped to one of the branches.

The coach had been stuffy and coupled together with the noisiness of the class, I had developed a headache. But after getting off the coach and just resting here was helping to clear it up.

These annual trips were nothing but trouble for me. Sure they could be relaxing for some, but for him no chance. As soon as I had gotten off the coach, I was surrounded by a screaming group of fan girls…and maybe some boys. It had taken a lot of running around to get rid of them. But luckily last time we visited this place, I discovered this place where very few people went. Mostly, people were captivated by the hot springs and didn't bother exploring the grounds, which made this place ideal for me to relax.

I got up and stretched my arms into the air, yawning and cracking my back. Man I was getting old. A lock of maroon hair drifted annoyingly in front of my eyes.

Grabbing my white violin case from the ground, I shouldered it and walked towards the lake. Violin had always been a passionate hobby of mine. It amazed how songs could capture such strong emotions such as joy, happiness, anger and sadness….

What better way to relax then to release all my emotion in a song. The pebbles beneath my shoes made loud scrunching noises as they shifted over one another. This place seemed so isolated, forgotten as people went to enjoy themselves elsewhere.

I removed my violin from its case and played a single note. The sound seemed to resound off the surface of the lake, and the wind died down a little, as if giving me the permission to perform and so I did.

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**Rima POV**

I leaned back onto the trunk of a Sakura tree and propped my sketch pad against my knees. It had taken a while to find a perfect location to paint. I wanted to find a place where I could see both the Sakura trees and a bit of the lake. This place was perfect.

I dipped the paintbrush into some water and colours and let my hand run free across the page. Each stroke on the page contained the emotions I was feeling. I wanted the picture to capture the location in all its beauty as well as my feelings.

The wind settled down a little and that was when I was made aware of the sweet and sorrowful song being played. The melodic sound was that of a violin and it was being played very skilfully. Each note tugged a little at my heart strings as I wondered who could be playing.

I got up slowly and allowed my ears to guide me to the creator to this beautiful music. It was quite faint and seemed to be coming from near the lake. Through the trees I saw a young guy playing to the lake. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be lost in his music; his posture was elegant and full of confidence, as each note he played was sincere and heartfelt. His dark burgundy hair

The way he stood out against the backdrop of the lake was breath taking. It looked like an artistic picture that you might find blown up on a large canvas in someone's living room. I sat down by the tree and began the sketch quickly.

As the song ended I looked at rough sketch I had quickly finished. With the little time I was given, I had tried to reproduce the look on his face onto paper. The look that showed he was so lost in his music that he was completely oblivious to the world and his surroundings. In his mind, he was probably on stage playing to a whole hall of people.

Not wanting to cause a scene and be caught red handed watching him, I got up carefully.

Snap.

I froze in shock as a twig snapped beneath me. I cursed myself mentally, hoping he hadn't heard it. I peeked around the edge of the tree.

His eyes met mine as he stood there with his brow furrowed. I gulped.

"Come out from behind the tree and explain why you're spying on me." He said cooly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Underneath The Sakura Trees**

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**A/N: Hello again. I'd just like to thank the lovely Xx4tuneCookieXx (nice name by the way :3) for the favourite,follow and review! Have fun reading~**

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**Chapter 2**

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out from behind the tree. His gaze never left her as she slowly moved into his line of vision. Her arms tightened instinctively to the sketchbook clenched to her chest.

"And you are..?"

"R-R-Rima Touya." She stuttered.

"Hmm…" he paused to think about where he had heard the name. Her distinct hair colour wasn't one that he saw often, but somehow it was familiar.. Then it clicked. He saw that the colour every day.

"You're that new girl that sits in front of me in class and eats Pocky throughout the whole lesson. With the amount you eat every day, I'm surprised that you manage to stay so thin." He remarked.

"….I like Pocky… A lot." Was all she had to say.

"I could tell." He laughed

"So if you know who I am, then who are you?" she asked tilting her head to the side, genuinely intrigued by this stranger that knew her name.

He raised an eyebrow. Surely this girl had to be joking around with him. It would be unheard of to have a girl who didn't know his name. He had appeared in numerous magazines both in Japan and internationally. He had even been voted into the Top 10 guys that teenage girls wanted to date.

"Do you seriously not know who I am?" he asked incredulously.

She nodded meekly.

"Well let me tell you. I am-"

"THE GREAT SHIKI SENRI!" finished Hatsumi, bursting out of the trees near Rima. Both Rima and Shiki turned to stare at the same time, both with similar expressions of shock plastered across their faces.

She had just popped out of no-where looking very flustered. Her usual pristine blond curls had an assortment of twigs and leaves sticking out. Her face covered in random brown patches which appeared to be dirt. Meaning that she had fallen down….and quite often by the looks of it. On closer inspection, her tight fitting black mini dress had numerous rips and tears in different places. It looked like she had battle through a forest and all its inhabitants just to make it here.

"How can you not know the Great Shiki Senri in our class?!" She screamed in outrage looking at Rima like she had forgotten how to count up to three.

"Well because he's just an ordinary guy in our class and I just arrived at this school."

"A **ORDINARY GUY**?! He is not just an ordinary guy! He is the hottest model in the entire universe. I have been following him ever since he debuted and I own every single one of the magazines he's appeared. I even own a copy of the limited edition poster signed by him. Do you know how rare it is?! Only THREE were made! THREE!"

The girl rolled my eyes. That really explained everything didn't it. So this was the _famous _Shiki Senri, that she had droned on about during the coach ride.

"So what if he is a model." I replied.

"Did you not listen to my explanation?! He isn't just a model. He is the **HOTTEST **model. EVER!" She gestured towards him but to both their surprise, he wasn't there anymore.

* * *

From high above he watched the two girls quarrel. So it was true that the ginger haired girl really had no idea who he was. On the other hand, the other blond haired seemed to know everything to do with him. It wouldn't surprise him if she even knew the colour of underwear he wore. He lifted the waistband to his pants and looked. Green with yellow smiley faces. Not the best looking ones, but they sure were comfy.

He looked back down. Hatsumi was pointing to the spot he had been standing and they both look surprised that he wasn't standing there. Did they really expect him to stand there whilst, the blond hair girl ran through his history. Turning on her tail, she ran back into the forest, leaving the other girl standing there.

What was her name again he pondered. He vaguely remembered the day she had came into class to do an introduction. At the time his video game had been much more interesting than the new girl who had just came in. Whatever her name was, she was interesting…

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**Rima POV**

The sun was beginning to set when I finally returned to the inn. I hadn't noticed how long it took to walk to the lake from the inn as it had looked so much closer from the window in the room. Maybe next time I would just stay and sketch from the window, it would definitely be a lot warmer then outside. Since it was late autumn, it could be quite chilly outside when the sun began to set.

As I approached the door to our room, a sudden ringing sound filled the corridor. Turning around to see what the noise, I noticed an elderly man dressed hobbling towards with a hand bell in one hand. The end of his wispy white beard reached midway down the traditional kimono that he wore. Upon seeing me, the man smiled graciously and bowed his head.

"It's time for dinner, miss. If you would just like to make your way to the dining room and find a seat."

"Okay, thanks." Rima replied, smiling politely.

One of the things that surprised me about the Ryokan was that even though the exterior looked quite old and the staff ran the whole place in a traditional way, the bedrooms were far from that. They were fairly modern, well-furnished and as far as I know each bedroom was equipped with its own personal bathroom. It was be interesting to see how the dining room would be styled. Low tables and tatami mats or normal wooden tables and chairs?

He smiled back, and then carried on walking down the corridor whilst ringing the bell in his hand. A couple of doors opened and the heads of her classmates popped out to see what could be the matter.

The door to my room opened before I could reach out and turn the handle. The figure on the other side collided straight into me, knocking me backwards.

I placed my hands behind me to brace myself as I fell back. My hand touched the carpet first, but that did very little to stop my ass colliding with the ground. I groaned, opening an eye to see who had collided with me.

Sprawled next to me, in an unsightly manner, was Hatsumi. If looks could kill, then I would be dead after looking into her eyes.

Picking up herself up, she brushed the none-existent dirt off her shoulders and pulled out a mirror to check her appearance.

"Watch where you're going you fool. I nearly broke a nail." She screamed at me. Her eyes left my face and moved to ground near my foot. I turned to see what she was looking at. Next to my foot lay the sketch of Shiki. It must have fallen out of my sketch book when I dropped it.

I bent to pick it up but it was too late she had seen it. She quickly snatched it up with her fuschia pink talons. Her gold bangles jangled noisily as she held it in front of my face.

"So you were spying on My Shiki!"

"N-n-no, I really-"

"Well guess what, he's MINE! So stay away from him new girl!" she yelled at me, before ripping the picture into shreds and tossing them into the air. Without another word, she left me there to pick up the scraps of my ruined drawing. Her overpowering perfume lingered in the air and made me sick to the core. She made me sick.

For a while, I just sat there staring the pieces of paper that lay before me. My brain couldn't comprehend it. She had ripped it up. My brain kept replaying the scene before my eyes. Time past, and somehow I had managed to pick up pieces and deposit them on my bed. _What now? Should I throw them away?_ The longer I stared at it the blurrier they seemed to get. I blinked and felt the warm liquid trickle out the corner out of my eyes. _It's fine Rima, it was only one measly drawing._

Picking them up in one hand, I walked over to the bin. But I couldn't do it.

**10 minutes later.**

"See, as good as new." I said showing the drawing to Mister Usagi who was the grey rabbit that I have had since I was a child. After rummaging around in my suitcase, I had found some sellotape and stuck the pieces of paper back together.

The grey rabbit just stared ahead blankly, and then fell to its side on the bed.

I hugged my knees closer to my body and sighed. It wasn't the same. It was broken and tattered.

I just sat there hugging my bunny rabbit and crying. I tried to calm myself down with deep breaths but it didn't seem to be working.

The door opened and in came Yuuki and Ruka.

"So here you are Rima, we've been looking everywhere for you." Ruka said.

"Wait, what's wrong?" Yuuki asked, looking at me face

They clambered onto the bed and put their arms around me. The dam inside me broke, releasing the tears that I had been trying so hard to hold back. Salty, warm tears streamed down my face. Silent sobs that shook my entire body. All the while Yuuki and Ruka tried to comfort and soothe me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Underneath The Sakura Trees**

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**A/N: Thanks to CuttieCorpse and Bottomless Pit of EMOTIONS for the reviews~**

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**Shiki Pov**

_Where was that Pocky girl_? Shiki wondered looking around the room. It was time for dinner and he had been looking forward to questioning her again. There was a question he was dying to know, which wasn't her name. He was dying to know the answer to that as well but firstly he had forgotten to ask her why she had been spying on him. She had already declared that she didn't know who he was, so why was she lurking around.

Suddenly, icy cold fingers covered his eyes, making him shiver. "Guess who, Shiki Baby?" Hatsumi whispered huskily into his ear.

The sickly sweetness of her perfume suffocated him. He gently pried the fingers off his face and turned to face her.

She had changed from her tattered black dress to an even more daring red dress with a plunging neckline. Around the room, he noticed that some boys from other tables were ogling at her. Hatsumi batted her long lashes and pouted at him - in what she must have believed to be a sexy way, but in reality made her look more like a gold fish opening its hot pink lipstick-coated mouth.

"What are you doing?" Shiki asked her coldly.

"Aren't you pleased to see me?" She whined, latching onto his arm. He could feel many pairs of eyes on them, and most of them seemed to be girls glaring ferociously at Hatsumi.

"No, of course no-"

"Hey, Shiki" cried Takuma, waving his arm in the air. He was seated at a nearby table with Kaname, Kain, Aidou and Shizuka. "Come sit with us" he gestured to an empty seat next to him.

"Hey look, I have to go now." Shiki said, trying to remove her from his arm.

"Don't be silly darling, I'm coming with you." She smiled sweetly, dragging me to towards with the table. It was too late to get rid of her as they reached the table together. He could see the surprised looks on the faces of his friends when they noticed Hatsumi with him.

"Hi everybody, my name is Hatsumi and I'm a friend of Shiki." She introduced herself before anyone could open their mouths. The five pairs of eyes moved back and forth between us as if trying to determine their relationship. It was quite rare for Shiki to socialise with other people other than Takuma and even rarer for it to be a girl.

Shiki didn't say anything and moved to sit next to Takuma. He gave the room one last glance, but couldn't see her sat at any of the tables

Throughout the whole dinner, wondered where the Pocky girl was.

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**Rima POV**

"So she basically ripped up your drawing all because it had Shiki in it?" repeated Ruka, twirling a strand of my hair between her fingers.

"Yeah…" I sniffed, wiping my nose with a tissue. It had taken a while before I could calm down enough to tell them what happened. They just sat there, listening to my story and comforting me.

"Well she's one crazy stalker."

"Mmm…"

"Do you want me to get her back for you? I have this great plan where we could take chewing gum and-"

"Ruka! I don't think Rima would want that." Yuuki protested.

"But Yuuki, she made our Rima cry." Ruka argued, wrapping her arms around me and holding me tenderly, like a mother holds a child. I breathed in her comforting lavender scent.

Gurgle. Gurgle.

"…"

"…"

Yuuki stared at both Ruka and me. "What was that weird noise?" She asked, looking around the room.

Gurgle. Gurgle.

I placed my hands on my stomach. . The sound was coming from me. Both my friends looked at me, and then burst into hysterical laughter. I looked at my clock on my bedside and was shocked that it was already 9:00 pm.

Whilst they rolled on my bed laughing, I slipped off the bed and walked over to my suitcase and opened it. Stacked next to my clothes, in neat orderly piles, were packets of Pocky. I grabbed the chocolate one on the top and opened it.

I popped one of the sticks into my mouth and savoured the sweet chocolate biscuity taste. There ccould be nothing better than the taste of Pocky and I had to argue with the vampires who said blood was the best tasting thing in the world. I couldn't imagine anything tasting better than Pocky, especially Strawberry flavoured Pocky. That one was my favourite.

Slowly, the laughter died down and Ruka sat up on the bed. "Woah! How many boxes did you bring with you?" she exclaimed, eyeing up my suitcase full of Pocky.

"Errr...a few." I admitted sheepishly.

"How many is a few."

"50... or more."

Grumble. Grumble.

It seemed louder this time.

"I swear that one wasn't me." I protested, holding my hand ups.

"We know, because it was us." Yuuki giggled. "Mind if we have some?"

"Help yourselves, there's plenty."

* * *

A while later, after a couple packets of Pocky and more laughter, Ruka left to head back to her own room. Yuuki was in the shower and I was waiting for her to come out of the bathroom so I could get my towel. It was nearly midnight. A perfect time to test out the hot springs. I really didn't like the idea of sharing a hot spring with strangers even if they were of the same gender. So now was a good time as most people would be in bed.

The door opened and in stepped Hatsumi.

Her hair was all a mess and the pink lipstick was smudged all over lips. Her eyes racoon eyes stared at me blearily, then she proceeded to totter into the room. She was clearly drunk.

The woozy girl slumped onto the bed fully clothed and instantly began snoring loudly.

I didn't know whether to laugh or not. Who knew that this girl could snore so loudly?

"What is that noise?" Yuuki asked, as she stepped out of the bathroom. I pointed to culprit who was lay unconscious on the bed. Yuuki looked at me and we both burst out laughing.

"I never knew Hatsumi snores like a pig. We better plug our ears with cotton wool tonight." Yuuki joked, drying her hair.

"Yeah. By the way, I'm going to go use the hot springs."

"At this time?"

"Yeah, because they'll be nobody there."

"Okay, then. Have fun."

* * *

I undressed quickly and wrapped the towel tightly around my body. As I stepped outside, the cold night air blew menacingly. All the hairs on my arms rose, and I hurried to get into the water. As I predicted, there was no sign of anyone in the hot springs.

I slowly walked down the steps into the hot springs and revelled in the amazing feeling of the hot water warming up my body. It was a strange sensation to be submerged in hot water whilst the air is freezing cold.

I swam to edge and sat on one of the seats that were built into the side of the hot spring. Sinking further, I tried to make sure that as much of my body was in the water, with the exception of my eyes and noise or I would drown. The mist swirled lazily above the surface of the water and created pretty patterns.

The outdoor scenery was illuminated by a few dimly lit lanterns on the outside of the changing rooms. I looked across the water at the delicate pink flowers that bloomed on the dark green bush. That was when I noticed a pile of clothes next to the bush.

I walked towards them to take a closer look. These were definitely boy's clothes as I saw the boxers lying on top. Who would have such bad taste in underwear - green with yellow smiley faces? But more importantly, what were they doing here.

Realization hit me and I turned to the side just in time to see a mop of maroon hair rise out of the water...


	4. Chapter 4

**Under The Sakura Trees**

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**A/N Unfortunately this chapter and the next one will be relatively short because they were meant to be one chapter but I decided that I wanted to release the first part and continue to work on the second part. I would like to thank all readers for reading,following,favouriting and reviewing my story ^^ It gives me a lot of joy reading all that positive feedback.**

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**Chapter 4**

**Rima POV **

Eyes widening in alarm, jaw dropping open in shock, I gawked at the sight in front of me.

Water streamed down his face and upper body as he rose out of the hot spring in slow-motion. Unconsciously, my eyes followed the rivulets of water that trickled down that smooth, toned chest of his. Tendrils of mist radiated off his body as the remaining water quickly evaporated into the nippy, night air.

Shiki ran a hand through the front of his dripping wet bangs and combed them back. His eyes shot opened and the corner of his mouth curved up into a smirk.

* * *

**Shiki POV**

The look of shock and horror on her face was priceless. It was like she had been expecting some kind of monster to pop out of the water.

This was second time that we had bumped into one another in one day and I was starting to wonder whether it was pure coincidence or maybe… she was pretending not to be a fan. Her actions seem to say otherwise as she seemed to shoot away at the sight of him.

In her haste to get away from him, her head had hit the edge of the pool. She turned to look behind her, whilst rubbing the back of her head. The sign on the wall read

**Women's Outdoor Pool**

Her head whipped around to look at me and then back at the sign, then back at me.

"What are you doing in the woman's pool" she shrieked, wrapping the towel tighter around her body.

I leaned back and rested my arms along the side of the pool.

"Well I didn't look at the sign when I got into the pool." I replied truthfully.

It hadn't occurred to me that this would be the female's area. I made a quick mental note to check the gender of the pool before entering. Who knew who might get in the pool next time if I wasn't careful? An image of a fairly overweight woman getting into the water popped into my mind. I shivered. I guess I was lucky that it was only the Pocky girl this time.

And she was not overweight or chubby by any accounts. Instead, the parts of her body that I could see were slim and slender, yet not so thin that it would be considered as unhealthy.

"You're lying." She accused me, "Why would you not look at the sign?"

"Well, because I wasn't exactly expecting someone else to come for midnight soak, so why would it matter which pool I went in."

I needed the soak after the tiring day. I mean I nearly got kissed by Hatsumi.

**_Flashback after the dinner_**

_I looked at Hatsumi - the girl was clearly wasted. I wasn't surprised after watching her chug down her weight in sake during the course of dinner. It was after her fourth or fifth bottle that Takuma elbowed me in in the ribs and inclined his head subtly in the Hatsumi's direction and then towards the door. Then I got the message. He wanted me to this pain-in-the-ass back to her room._

_Once we got to the girl's corridor, Hatsumi lurched towards me and pushed me against the wall. I wrinkled my nose in disgust as I caught a whiff of her alcohol laced breath. Using the back of her hand, she wiped away the drool from the corner of her mouth and smacked her lips together._

_"Youuuu knoww you *hic* want meehhh badlllyyy."She said slurring her words._

_"Hatsumi stop this now. You've had too much to drink, now kindly get off me." I placed my hands on her shoulders in case she did something._

_"I knowww *hic* what I'm doing." she wiped her lips smudging her lipstick. "I'meeh gonna give ya tha time of ya life." She giggled hysterically whilst jabbing me hard in the chest._

_All of a sudden, she jerked forwards so that her lips were inches away from mine. Her eyes were closed ad she cleaned in closer. There was only one thing I could do. I let go of her shoulders and ducked underneath her arm and run down the corridor. Turning around, I was just in time to see eyes open in surprise before she collided with the wall – leaving a pink lipstick stain._

_"Wherrr ya going Shiki hunney. I'mmm not don with yaaah yet." She shouted at me._

_I turned round the corner and locked myself in a storeroom. That encounter had been too close for comfort._

**_End of Flash Back._**

"Can you just get out of this pool and go to the men's instead?"

"Is the pool not big enough for both of us" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"N-n-no. But it's the woman's area….. And you're not a woman." She finished. A rosy pink hue painted her cheeks as she turned to look away from me.

I felt a twang in my heart.

"Fine, fine, I'll get out…But there's a problem."

"What?"

"I'm not wearing anything." I stared pointedly at my pair of boxers lying on top of my clothes.

Immediately, the colour on her cheeks intensified to a startling scarlet colour and spread to her whole face.

"I'll turn around, so you can get out." She replied averting her gaze.

"But what if you peek? Who knows, you might be a pervert."

"I'm not a PEVERT! She shouted

"If you say so, but if I find a single picture of me at the Onsen, then I know it was you." I said in hopefully a threatening manner. I knew she wouldn't do it anyway – she didn't seem like the kind. By the looks of it she had never seen a partially naked guy. "Now turn around."

I waited for her to turn fully around before getting out the water and picking up the clothes. I paused at the entrance to the changing rooms.

"One more thing. You look cute in a towel." I called to her, and then walked in.

**Rima POV**

Did he just call me cute? Nah, he can't have. The steam must be affecting my hearing or something. I'd better get out soon or I might faint from the heat.

I clambered out hurried into the changing room to get changed.


End file.
